


Unbound

by MurkyMuse



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Canonical Child Abuse, Gen, manga spoilers 100+
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-03-25 08:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3802999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MurkyMuse/pseuds/MurkyMuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jae-ha wished to reach the sky but didn’t think that would be possible until one night when he dreamed of a golden dragon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unbound

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Sin ataduras](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6678886) by [narutinachan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/narutinachan/pseuds/narutinachan)



Jae-ha reached his hand toward the ceiling. Chains rattled as they pulled tight. He uselessly tugged but could reach no farther. With a sigh Jae-ha slumped back down onto the old straw mat that served as his bedding. A few minutes later the door swung open, and his predecessor stumped in.

“Here’s your rations, brat.”

He pushed the bowl in Jae-ha’s hands before turning to leave as if staying near the younger dragon was poison. 

“If I had the full power of the dragon’s foot”, Jae-ha mumbled under his breath, “Could I break these chains…?”

Garou paused, a hitch in his breath. He turned back to Jae-ha with hand raised and smacked him across the face. The force of the blow knocked the boy down. The bowl hit the ground with a cluttering noise, most of the food spilling. Despite - or because of - the throbbing pain in his jaw, Jae-ha glared defiantly at his predecessor.

“Escaping is pointless”, Garou huffed.

The door slammed behind the retreating figure. With a sullen expression Jae-ha cleaned the mess and then ate what was left. He tried not to think about the walls closing in around him.

* * *

 

Jae-ha couldn’t escape his chains or the prison-like room. Sometimes he would find refuge in his sleep. There he could dream he was soaring through the sky like how his dragon foot longed for. The wind would brush through his greenish hair. His hands would touch the cold, wet clouds. Even though Jae-ha had never experienced it, his blood and spirit knew that unbridled freedom. 

However, that evening his dream held no sanctuary. It was dreamless sleep. The darkness and chill of the night pressed down on him. The chains tying him down scratched his wrists and un-scaled ankle when he shifted in his sleep. The words of his predecessor echoed in Jae-ha’s unconscious mind.

_Escaping is pointless._

Would he really be caged like this until a new dragon was born?

Warmth suddenly surrounded Jae-ha like an affectionate hug. A dragon appeared in his blank dream. This dragon was not green but golden in color. The strange dragon hovered over Jae-ha, radiating both fondness and sadness. The golden dragon’s claw reached for Jae-ha and patted his head gently. Instinctively Jae-ha leaned into the touch drinking in the affection like a man dying of thirst.            

 _“If you knew of this you'd most certainly be furious, Shu-ten...”_ , the golden dragon spoke softly but with anger in his voice, _“What a load of idiots. Tying Ryokuryuu down to Earth is something not even the Heavens can do.”_

Eventually the gold dragon lifted his claw; and, just like that he vanished.

* * *

 

Jae-ha’s eyes snapped open, his hand unconsciously reaching out. He sat up causing the cloak covering him to slide off his shoulders. Jae-ha glanced down at it in confusion. It hadn’t been there when he fell asleep. Garou occasionally did nice things but he had been in a bad mood earlier. Jae-ha doubted his predecessor would have left it. All the villagers treated him like a nuisance. They certainly wouldn’t have given him such a comfort.

The strange dream of a golden dragon flashed through his mind.

“Ou...?”

He shook his head. There was no reason for one of the other four dragons to come to this prison of a village. Still, the dream dragon’s words echoed in Jae-ha’s mind.

“Not even the Heavens can…?”

The dragon from his dream had been so certain nothing could hold down the Ryokuryuu. Had that dream just been wishful thinking?

Jae-ha stretched out his arms. That was when he noticed it. The chains binding his wrists were loosened, weakened. He blinked and then quickly shifted to check his feet. Sure enough, those two were weakened as well. Questions ran through his mind: How? Why?

No. It didn’t really matter. What mattered was that with the chains like this Jae-ha might be able to break them. He used all the strength in his dragon’s foot to kick one of the chains. Jae-ha could feel the metal straining. He kicked it again. This time the chain broke. He repeated the process until all four chains were severed.

And then Jae-ha ran. He ran out of the prison room. He ran outside. The bright blue sky briefly blinded him, but the sun’s caressing light felt so good that he didn’t care.

“Jae-ha got out!”

“He’s escaping!”

“Garou! Catch him!”

The sound of villager’s voices pulled Jae-ha out of the trance. He knew that was his cue to fly. With a brief running start Jae-ha put all his weight on his dragon’s foot and jumped. The wind brushed through his hair. The village and its prison keepers were appearing smaller and smaller the higher he soared. Jae-ha willed himself the reach the heavens as joy blossomed inside his chest.

“Brat!”

A hand tightly gripped his foot, pulling him back down to earth. Jae-ha hit the ground with a sharp thud. Garou kept a strong hold on the young dragon assuring Jae-ha couldn’t try to jump again.

“I told you”, his predecessor spat, “Escaping is pointless.”

Jae-ha glared at the dirt. For a brief moment he had tasted the ultimate freedom. Jae-ha was already determined to cling to that freedom. One day he would escape. It was only a matter of time.

Because not even the Heavens could tie down Ryokuryuu Jae-ha.

* * *

 

A full moon – glowing bright – hung in the clear sky. Music notes whimsically danced through the night air as Jae-ha expertly played his erhu. Lost in the song, his eyes remained closed until the last note faded. When he did open his eyes, Jae-ha was surprised to see he was no longer alone. Zeno was sitting near him and staring up at the moon. Zeno’s blue eyes were fathomless; the slight smile on his lips holding untold wisdom. Seeing his fellow dragon like that, Jae-ha could easily believe Zeno was one of the original dragons of legend.

“Ah, Zeno?”

Zeno turned to face him. The blond’s expression fluidly shifted to innocent happiness that belied his physical age of seventeen and completely masked his true age. Jae-ha thought such a skill was a little frightening. 

“Zeno was moon watching and heard Ryokuryuu’s beautiful music. So Zeno came to join you! Zeno hopes Ryokuryuu doesn’t mind.”

Jae-ha shrugged as he carefully set his instrument down, “I’d prefer the company of a lovely lady on a lovely night like this.”

Zeno’s reply was to chuckle.

“Not an old man”, Jae-ha added with a smirk.

Zeno’s laughter paused as he shot an annoyed glare at the younger dragon. Jae-ha gladly added a tally to his mental score board of teasing. The two dragons then turned their attention back to the night sky, enjoying the simple company.

“I recently remembered…” Jae-ha spoke after a while, “When I was about nine, I dreamt a golden dragon came to visit me. After I woke up there was cloak covering me, and the shackles that tied me down were loosened just enough for me to break free. For the first time I was able to jump unbound by chains.”

Jae-ha glanced back to the blond, searching for answers in Zeno’s unreadable expression.

“At the time I didn’t think much of it, but…You were looking after all of us, weren’t you?”

Zeno’s hand stretched up to reach Jae-ha’s head. As Zeno petted his hair like he was a child, a wave of déjà vu washed over Jae-ha. It probably looked comical; Jae-ha did appear nearly a decade older than the blond. However, Jae-ha made no move to stop the elder dragon.

Zeno finally answered the question with a secretive smile.

“Perhaps.”   


End file.
